Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Challengers 09

Finally at age 60 I made the hike to the top of Imperial! 13,000 ft. Jim is smiling...

Making the best of our last few hours snowshoeing on Four o'Clock.
Molly and Meg showing "perfect" form!




Fine candlelight dining on Molly's best cuisine.


Enjoying a beer after skiing at Copper, but missing Susan!

A quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the "Flyer" at Copper.




Meg is always the happiest behind a BIG machine!




Our first day started out with 7" of POWDER!!!




A few pictures of the reigning winners of the Breck Challenge. Note that the winners are of the female gender...









Thursday, March 12, 2009

Breck Attack 2009

On top of the "Big Manilla"
Real men wear PINK

Six inched new powder first thing in the morning

Savoring a beer before pizza at Eric's

Somehow those tired thighs need soothing


About to head into the powder on Whale's Tails


Smilin' after a powder run


Three amegos at top of "Dukes"











Twohig-Engel Spring Break 03/2009

a ski date thank youNonna and Papa!!!!
the family on the hike back up from town

Kate
Mike
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NONNA!!!
walking to get ice cream at Cold Stone

hot tub'n

pool time at the Craig Holiday Inn

A windy day on top of the T-bar
Nonna, Finnegan, and Maggie watching for the fox
bundled up for a cold and windy day!

Kate and Jim taking a powder run
Kate off the Imperial chair

Finnegan playing at the Rec Center pool

Maggie enjoying the 86.5 degree pool
Nonna and Papa taking Finnegan on a warm up run down Four O'clock


We drove the 8 1/2 hour trip from Logan...okay, fine... mapquest says 8 1/2 hours, but mapquest doesn't know that we have a 3 1/2 year old and a 14 month old in a the car...okay, fine...and a 31 year old who can't seem to sit in the car for longer than 2 hours. We stopped and spent the night in Craig, Colorado at the Holiday Inn. It has a pool, which was a bonus.

We are here for the whole week and so far have Mike and I have gotten to ski alone together twice! You know...without a kid on a harness in front of us and both of out on the mountian...vs. our typical ski day of one of us in the lodge herding Maggie and Finnegan (after his few harness runs) while the other one is out skiing all alone. AND we walked around town ALONE...AND we went out to dinner ALONE :)

THANK YOU NONNA AND PAPA!!!

Today is Nonna's SIXTIETH birthday. Nonna and Papa are our taking Finnegan skiing, Maggie is napping, Mike is watching t.v. (a luxury for him since we don't have t.v. at home), and I am on the computer (a luxury for me to do without a kid climbing up my legs). Tonight we are going to order food in and celebrate Nonna's birthday in front of the roaring fire (ha ha ha...for those of you who have been here you know that their is no such thing as a snorting fire at Tallbacken, but we will still enjoy the warm blue glow).

Here are some picutures from our Spring Break 2009 trip (great being married to a professor...we will have Spring Breaks forever...yipee!)

Tallbacken..."PINEHILLS"


A chronicle in commemoration of the christening of Gustav and Kain Olson's summer cottage in Michigan's primitive woods beside "Bass Lake"
on Monday the 13th of August, 1934.
A distance from the road
At the edge of the forest,
One cottage, situated solitarily
A glimpse of which comes into view.

A tall pine mast
With the oaks shady crown
Protects against the sun and blowing winds
Was spared where they erected their building

Big lakes and small lakes, so nea,
That all give cooling refreshment.
Birds and small animals one hears there;
Rustling in the woods and small groves.

In the cottage harmony prevails,
A couple of pure Nordic stock,
Like sibling - both of light complexion
The blush as they talk and play friskily.

"Pinehills" real value is "Gust",
He was marked by the welcoming sounds of the woods
(the wind rustling leaves and swaying trees)
Karin in his delight and he is joyous that in Holland,
She saw the light of the day.

In the large town near the big lake
The flame of love flared and the loers
tied the wedding knot
As in the experience of homes around
The world they grasped hapiness
As a consequence.

All should have a positive outlook,
such as when a baker makes cookies
but when Gustav's anger got the better of him
Karin becomes furious when her loved one's
anger explodes.

Both during days and nights
he respects everyone's roaring
helping women with thier corsets,
and the men with all thier toasts.

Gustaf and Karin, even though you now sit in leisure
there were often troubles or difficulties in building
their home.
recall that you gain nothing without a struggle or
disagreement like dealing or haggling
with a Jewish retailer.

The longed for the sea and nature
so to the cottage in "Bass Lake Park" they go
which all others regard and respect,
it is "the crown for the summer" they chorus.

What a paradise "PINEHILL" is
and cheerful alsways to be sure
everything was so relaxing wrote auther Gulli
"Home again, thanks for our last visit".